Common Sales Job Interview Questions and Answers

A sale is a process of selling a product or idea as a means of generating income. Hiring managers are looking for salespersons with different skills and experiences. They have the power to choose someone who they believe will help their company’s products get sold in the market.

A salesperson is someone who has the reliable skills to sell a product or an idea to get money. He or she should have good negotiation and good communication skills that enable them to pitch an idea or product to get sales success. An ideal salesperson is someone who is patient and relates to customers, possesses strong communication skills, and is flexible in his approach.

Companies need the right salespersons in order the get the products out to the right customers. For them, without having someone on the team with commercial skills, their products or ideas hold no value. So what are the common sales interview questions you can expect during a job interview? Read all about it in this blog.

Sales Job Interview Questions

• Why do you want to work in a sales position?

The first thing is to talk about your passion for sales; you can even go further and give a story of how you came to realize your passion and interest in sales.

Convince the interviewer that you love the sales position and the work that is done that is talking about your interests and likings to selling. Here you could give an example of the company’s products and how you are a sales person can sell it. Talk about your past experiences and sales ability that you have earned from your previous job.

• As a salesperson, would you buy the product you are selling?

The answer should be yes. The reasons a salesperson may give so that his or her product/idea for a product should be reasonable in that they will also be reasonable to the customer to buy the product.

This kind of question is asked by a hiring manager to see the kind of qualities you as a potential salesperson in his company have, the answer you give may be a breakthrough for you as you may get hired.

• How do you update yourself of the latest sales trends?

Here a sharp salesperson could give an answer of where he or she finds the latest sales trends could be in the internet that is in sales blogs, podcasts that relate to sales, reading sales eBooks, having mentors in the sales position that you look up to for motivation and even going through the daily newspapers for any trend whether traditional or modern.

A company’s sales person should be updated, know of the latest sales trends. Should be someone creative, thinks of many different ways to solve an issue, someone who comes up with new ideas every time and then.

• Are you dealing with rejection as a salesperson?

Rejection in business is a challenge that every salesperson faces. When asked this kind of question. One should not get personal or give an answer that doesn’t show how you as salesperson deal with rejection.

Explain to the interviewer that rejection cases make you even stronger; gives you the strength to face other deals with hope. Go ahead and say that rejection makes you learn lessons that will help you in other sales deals.

A salesperson you should know that no matter how good you pitch your product or idea, it’s not all the time that the idea will be accepted without some giving negative comments about your idea.

• An overview of your sales career up to date?

Here, do not forget to mention any detail of how you decided to pursue sales as a career. Talk about who/what made you choose the sales position and why the position interests you.

Talk about the challenges you faced, your motivation that is what keeps you going during working is it your family? Or someone prominent. Talk about what made apply for the job you are being interviewed for.

• Talk about your most successful sale?

This question can be answered by you giving detailed information about how your sale was successful. Talk about all the challenges you faced during the process and how you finally managed to do it.

Avoid leaving out any information since it may be what you call unwanted information, but according to the hiring manager it may be needed information or a hiring manager may pick a quality about you that you had not noticed about yourself.

• Do you have any questions for me?

According to research, it states that the kind of people who ask questions during an interview show that they have power. Ask about the organization’s culture, the schedule, about the employees, about other extra activities that are done by the organization.

Ask about the current salesperson, how he or she works. Ensure that you do not ask questions of topics that are clearly stated on the company’s website; it shows ignorance.

Here are some tips on how to deal with questions during a sales interview.

• Ensure that before the interview you research about the company and explain your interests in the company.
• Ensure that you have worked on your communication and negotiation skills so that you can stand out during the interview.
• Do not lie during the interview, be honest, and give detailed answers; you can also use real experiences as an example.
• Be ready to answer questions and also ask questions, when giving your answers give examples then ask questions so that you can be sure about the potential surrounding you will be working in.
• After the interview, it’s a good gesture sending a thank you letter to the hiring manager even If you have not gotten the position yet.
• Be yourself during the interview, do not “pretend” or act in a way that is not you; that way, you will be confident and more comfortable.

Job Interview Topics – Common Job Interview Questions & Answers

Below you can find a list of common job interview topics. Each link will direct you to an article regarding the specific topics that discuss commonly asked interview questions. Furthermore, each article discusses why the interviewer asks these questions and how you answer them!

1. Accomplishments
2. Adaptability
3. Admission
4. Behavioral
5. Career Change
6. Career Goals
7. Communication
8. Competency
9. Conflict Resolution
10. Creative Thinking
11. Cultural Fit
12. Customer Service
13. Direct
14. Experience
15. Government
16. Graduate
17. Growth Potential
18. Honesty & Integrity
19. Illegal
20. Inappropriate
21. Job Satisfaction
22. Leadership
23. Management
24. Entry-Level & No experience
25. Performance-Based
26. Personal
27. Prioritization & Time Management
28. Problem-solving
29. Salary
30. Situational & Scenario-based
31. Stress Management
32. Teamwork
33. Telephone Interview
34. Tough
35. Uncomfortable
36. Work Ethic